d+a | Issue 115 • Apr/May 2020

12 / MOOD BOARD / residents of Beijing, offering them a glimpse of the mysteries of the Himalayas and its culture to this urban metropolis. O ne Take Architects has designed the pop-up Mandalas Digital Art Museum in Beijing, China. The predominantly plain, white, angular structure reveals a surprising detail as visitors get near: skirting the base is a mirrored surface with a silhouette akin to a mountain range, specifically that of the Namcha Barwa in the Himalayas. Flights of stairs are sporadically cut into the façade too – some leading nowhere, others to the roof of the pop-up. It all starts to make sense when it is revealed that the design concept is a response to Chinese Buddhism culture and the psychedelic exhibition inside the museum is themed upon Himalayan art and culture. Each of the blocks that makes up the structure can be reorganised into a dKyil-‘khor (an inner, sacred palace or Buddha realm, translated as “mandala” in English). This echoes an interpretation of the Mandala Sandpainting: when one is completed, a dKyil-‘khor is also established in space and time. The Mandalas Digital Art Museum aspires to bring this immersive experience to the A POP-UP MUSEUM IN BEIJING USES ITS ARCHITECTURE TO INVITE EXPLORATION INTO HIMALAYAN ART AND CULTURE. BUILDING BLOCKS WORDS LOW SHI PING / PHOTOGRAPHY NAN XUEQIAN (ONE TAKE ARCHITECTS), WANG SHILU (RANSHI VISION)